


Tempest Reef

by AXEe



Series: Tempest Reef [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, How Do I Tag, Ocean, Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-08 19:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15250467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Tempest Reef, California, present day.   Sixteen years ago one of the biggest storms in recent history hit the small coastal town of Tempest Reef, causing wide-spread destruction and loss of life.  It was during this time that local marine biologist and oceanographer Lori Curtis found an infant girl abandoned on the docks.  Taking the baby in, Lori raised the girl as her own, naming her 'Marina'.   But now in her sixteen year, Marina will discover her fantastic heritage and, ultimately, her destiny...





	1. Prologue: The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> More original works from me :=) Enjoy! :=)

**Tempest Reef, California  
2002…**

The sky was virtually pitch black, the rain falling in near-vertical sheets of water as the wind whipped around the dock, threatening to bowl over those few people who had returned to dock in the midst of the storm and now struggled to secure their ships as the water churned and frothed.

The small coastal town of Tempest Reef was no stranger to storms, but this was one of the worst to be seen in decades, possibly even centuries. The tropical storm—named ‘Rita’ by the National Weather Service—had initially formed off the coast of Hawaii where it had steadily built in strength over the course of a week before moving past the island state towards the California coast via the so-called ‘Pineapple Express’.

Initially, experts had believed that the storm would die down prior to making landfall in California, only to be proven wrong as the storm continued on its path in an only somewhat diminished state, roaring past the Catalina Islands before hitting Southern California at twelve noon, darkening the skies over the small coastal community of Tempest Reef.

Once a major center for the fishing industry—in particular the processing and canning of caught fish—the canneries had soon closed down sometime in the mid-60s and the town had become something of a sleepy little hamlet popular with surfers and beachcombers; not exactly dying but not exactly thriving either, and most the town’s residents were fine with that.

One thing that made the community stand out and what was possibly the only thing keeping the town alive, was the ‘Curtis Institute for Marine Research’; part aquarium, part research facility, the Curtis Institute—as it was more commonly known—was a private, non-profit organization that specialized in the study of the world’s oceans and the life within them and was the single-largest employer in the community.

Currently, Lori Curtis—the heir to the Curtis family and the current head of the institute—leaned into the wind as she struggled onto the docks, trying to see the bright orange rope that was attached to the sensor currently dangling under the dock in the churning water, the sensor contained valuable information about oceanic currents and the affect global warming was having on them. A cautious person would say that it was a fool’s errand to go out in a storm for the sake of scientific research, Lori Curtis would tell them to go walk off the pier.

Finally spying the rope, Lori struggled against the wind, pushing past several people who were—perhaps in a wiser move than Lori would give them credit for—heading in the opposite direction, _away_ from the storm.

Teeth chattering from the biting wind and rain, Lori laid flat on her stomach and reached down, grabbing the rope and began to haul the sensor up, only for the rope to suddenly snag of something. Cursing, Lori tugged harder, gasping as _something_ suddenly tugged back in response.

A hand suddenly burst through the water, grasping Lori’s wrist in a tight, bruising grip. Struggling against the incredible strength in the hand, Lori watched as a woman suddenly emerged from the water, suddenly shooting out of the water to land on the dock besides Lori in an awkward crouch before suddenly stumbling onto her side in clear pain, holding a hand to an open wound at her side, while her other hand tightly clutched a bundle of cloth her to chest.

The woman was tall, lithe, with fair skin and long, bright red hair. She was dressed in what looked like a wetsuit, but it appeared to be made of some kind of metallic scale-like material, covering the woman’s entire body expect for her head, hands, and feet. Gasping and panting in clear pain, the woman awkwardly rolled over to face Lori and pushed the bundle of cloth in hands towards Lori

“K-k-k-keep her secret,” she panted out in accented English, her words noticeably slurred as what looked like blood suddenly dribbled out of the corner of her mouth “keep her safe” she urged as she held out the hand covering her wound, a flat, octagonal disk in her palm, which she frantically thrust towards Lori

“Wha—I don’t understand,” Lori balked as the bundle was forcibly—almost desperately--pushed into her hands “who are you?” she demanded as lightening struck out on the water, the flash momentarily blinding Lori.

Twisting away from the brightness and frantically blinking to clear her eyes, Lori turned back only to find that the woman had disappeared. Looking down at the octagonal disk, she absently pocketed it as the bundle of cloth began moving

“Oh…don’t tell me” Lori muttered as she pulled the cloth away, revealing the face of a infant. The baby was young, probably no older than a year at most and was clearly starting to get upset from the foul weather.

Looking around the dock for any sign of the woman, Lori found none and, standing up, she held the tiny bundle of life close to her chest as she retrieved the sensor and sprinted back off the docks towards town as the storm’s fury increased…


	2. The Water Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! Chapter TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

**Tempest Reef  
2018…**

“ _The severity of the geomagnetic storm last night has scientists in a frenzy. A geomagnetic storm of such severity has not been seen 1989, when a severe storm caused a massive blackout in Quebec and caused the formation of auroras as far south as Texas. Already in many communities throughout the U.S. residents are still without power. The residents of Cascade Falls, Kansas, near Wichita, were without power for nearly twelve hours, while in California some residents lost power, but crews are working round the clock to restore power in affected areas …_ ”

The radio continued to drone on in the background as sixteen year old Marina Curtis pushed open the back door of the house and climbed down the old creaking wooden steps to the beach, a surfboard slung under her arm and a bag of clean clothes on the other as she padded barefoot to the water’s edge and assessed the waves glinting in the early California sunshine.

Clad in a dark green wetsuit, she stood at an average height of five feet, five inches, with fair skin and long wavy auburn hair, and bright green eyes.

Smiling to herself, she wadded out into the water and then, once she’d reached the right depth, paddled out the rest of the way on her board. The wind had picked up, making for good waves, and she caught several good-sized waves over the next half hour or so, keeping a careful eye on her watch as she did, it was a Monday after all.

Turning into the next wave, she gasped as she suddenly wiped out, a bout of turbulence suddenly tossing her from the board and into the water. Momentarily stunned, she sank a few feet before regaining her senses.

Shaking her hair out of her eyes, she allowed herself to leisurely drift beneath the surface for a while, the lack of air not bothering her in the least, it never had, and she felt no need to even try and hold her breath, her breathing being as free and easy as it had been on the surface and, although certified and trained in scuba diving, she had never had need for scuba gear once in her life. The temperature underwater didn’t bother her much either and although she usually wore a wetsuit when surfing, she never really felt an actual physical need for it.

She didn’t know if she could actually breathe underwater like a fish, but considering that most humans could only stay underwater without scuba gear for three minutes or so and she could stay under for hours without any ill effects, it seemed likely.

Just another part of the weirdness that was Marina Curtis she thought as she drifted.

From a young age, even before her strange abilities had developed, she had always been at home in or on the water; she had been able to swim from a very young age, never needing lesions, swimming came as easily to her as walking had.

As she grew, she found that she was also able to swim at very high speeds, far faster than any person should able to, once following a pod of dolphins down to Baja and returning home that same afternoon without needing to surface for air once. She was also strong too, capable of lifting large weights with ease both in and out of the water, once easily pushing her mother’s truck out of the mud one handed. She was also durable too, once falling from her second story bedroom window and landing on the ground without any real injury save for a few bruises.

Deciding that she’d stayed under long enough, she quickly surfaced and retrieved her board, lazily paddling back to shore. She didn’t know ‘what’ she was; mutant? Science experiment? Alien? Mermaid seemed likely given her natural affinity for water, but she didn’t have a tail and couldn’t lure men to a watery grave with her song (actually she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket to save her own life).

But it was those very ‘oddities’ that made her mother worry; Marina had been discouraged from trying out for any sports, especially swimming. Officially, the reason was that Marina had had asthma as a baby, and her mother Lori was worried about her having an attack while swimming, but Marina knew the real reason, even if Lori didn’t say it; if people found out about her, about what she could do…

At the very least it would mean lots of unwanted attention for the two women, and at the very worst…

Well, it didn’t take too far a leap of the imagination to realize that Marina’s abilities could have military applications if someone found a way to replicate them.

Which meant studying her.

Which most likely meant dissecting her.

Shaking off the distressing thoughts, Marina reached the shore and pulled her board up, slinging it under her arm as she absently wiped a bit of wet hair out of her face on her walk back to the house, stripping out of the wetsuit and showering off in the small, ramshackle shower that had been built under the deck. The water pressure was weak and hot water was a thing of fantasy, but it worked in getting sand and salt off and that was all that mattered.

Toweling off, Marina quickly changed into the clothes she’d brought with her and then, grabbing her board, climbed back the stairs and into the house

“I saw you out there, you’re getting better” Lori Curtis commented from the stove as she flipped a pancake

“Yeah, well it helps that I apparently can’t drown” Marian commented from the deck as she put the surfboard away

“Hmm,” was Lori’s non-committal response, which was usually her way of saying that she didn’t like it when Marina brought up her powers. It wasn’t that she hated the fact that Marina had powers, it was simply she didn’t like it when Marina showed off, the less that people knew about her and what she could do, the better she thought.

Turning off the stove, she set the plate down on the table

“Come on, eat, you’re going to be late” she said as Marina sat down

“Late for what?” the teen asked

“ _School_ ” Lori emphasized

“Oh. Right”

“Come on, come on, eat, eat,” Lori urged “I’ve got a meeting with the Institute’s board of directors and those penny-pinching vultures don’t like to be kept waiting…”

******

**Tempest Reef High School**

Tempest Reef High School was one of five schools operated by the Tempest Reef Unified School District; the other four being a middle school and three elementary schools, grades K through twelve.

Getting off the bus with a little spring in her step, Marina slipped into the throng of students entering the school, briefly pausing at the poster on the wall

Poseidon Energy  
Making a Better World Today

It boasted, causing Marina to wrinkle her nose in disgust

“You’d think my dad would draw the line at indoctrinating high school students” a voice said from behind her

“Are you kidding,” Marina laughed “that’s where we’re ripe for the picking” she reached out and plucked the poster off the wall and crumpled it up before turning to the girl now standing beside her, who nodding approvingly as Mariana tossed the crumpled ball of paper away. Annabelle ‘Anna’ Curry was the granddaughter of August Curry, heir to the Poseidon Energy fortune, a petrochemical company that had in recent years become one of the largest and richest oil companies on the Western Seaboard, due in part to having built an offshore refinery just off the coast from Tempest Reef itself, which brought an increase in business to the town.

Despite that, rumors of unethical practices as well as growing ambivalence about fossil fuels had led to a sense of resentment among many residents; the surfers and the fishermen complained that the refinery leaked toxic chemicals and other pollutants into the water, which the Curtis Institute corroborated. However Poseidon Energy had a veritable army of lawyers, all eager and willing to run anyone who could possibly sully the company’s good standing into the ground faster than one could say ‘breach of ethics’, so, for now at least, Poseidon was here to stay, and despite the negative press, the company did bring much needed jobs to the town 

One uniquely beneficial aspect about the company was its current heir’s granddaughter, Anna, who had moved to the town when her mother, Lillian Curry, had left nearby Seaport City to oversee the management of the refinery amid the bad press. As a result of the move, her sixteen year old daughter was now attending high school at Tempest Reef High.

Despite a slew of protests on her part, the initially somewhat-spoiled and bratty Anna had quickly found a friend in Marina and soon grew to love the beach culture that made Tempest Reef a haven for surfers and sunbathers.

In appearance, Anna and Marina differed significantly. While Marina was of average height with fair skin, auburn hair, and bright green eyes, Anna was tall, with long natural blonde hair and an even tan, making her seem more like the stereotypical ‘beach bunny’ than Marina, despite the fact that Anna was actually afraid of water and only knew how to swim in the most basic of senses.

Smirking at her friend, Marina threw an arm around her shoulders as they walked to class

“You know, I had another weird dream last night” Marina commented suddenly

“Really?” Anna asked “what was this one about?”

Marina shook her head as she tried to remember

“I was swimming deep underwater,” she recalled “and, all of a sudden, this voice says _‘Come, Ora, come’_ ”

“Creepy,” Anna noted “did you tell your Mom?”

Marina shook her head

“Not yet” she answered

“What’d you think it means?” Anna wondered

Marina shrugged

“I don’t know, maybe it’s a memory of my birth parents”

“Seems kind of a weird thing to remember about your parents” Anna commented

“ _Birth_ parents” Marina corrected firmly

“Right, sorry” Anna nodded, careful not to poke the bear any further, knowing that, despite being adopted, Marina had no real desire to reconnect with her birth parents, to her Lori Curtis was, and always would be, her mother.

“No worries,” Marina chuckled, playfully nudging her friend “come on, we’d better hurry” she reminded the other girl as they walked towards class…

******

The rest of the school day passed without incident or much difference from pervious days. Stepping out of the school, Marina waved to Anna as her mother’s car pulled up

“Hi, Mom” she greeted as she climbed in and buckled up

“Hi, sweetie,” Lori greeted as she pulled away from the curb and turned onto the main road, which overlooked the Pacific, the mid-afternoon sun sparkling off the water as they drove “everything go OK at school?” Lori asked

“I guess” Marina shrugged…

******

Afternoon turned into evening soon enough, and as the sun set over the Pacific, Marina found herself standing out on the back porch staring out at the water, feeling drawn to it as always

“Hey, there you are,” Lori chuckled as she came to her daughter, frowning as Marina didn’t respond “yoo-hoo, earth to Marina,” she nudged her daughter “hey!”

Marina blinked and shook her head

“Sorry, what?” she asked

“You were a million miles away there,” Lori noted “what’s wrong?”

Marina sighed

“I had another dream last night,” she admitted “like I told you about, with the voice calling me from the deep”

Lori sighed

“What do you think it means?” she wondered

“I don’t know” Marina shrugged

“Well,” Lori frowned as she tried to think of what to say next “how do these dreams make you feel? Lonely? Angry? Happy?”

“Confused,” Marina sighed “I just…I feel like that there’s so much about me that we _don’t_ know,” she groaned “where do I come from? What was so bad that my birth mother had to abandon me like that?” she held up a silvery octagonal disc, the same disc that her birth mother had given Lori sixteen years ago on the storm tossed docks “what does this mean?” she wondered

“I don’t know,” Lori sighed as she took the disc from Marina “I had a metallurgist over at Cal Tech analyze this about a week after I found you,” she began “according to him, its made from a metal alloy that could only be formed at the bottom of the ocean,” she turned over the disc and traced the strange symbols etched into its reverse side with her finger “a linguist at Stanford told me that these symbols don’t match any know language on Earth” she continued

“So what am I?” Marina groaned “alien? Mutant? What?”

Lori turned to face her and firmly grabbed the girl by the shoulders

“You are my daughter,” she stated “and that is all that matters. Where you came from, what you can do, none of that matters to me. All that matters is that I love you, and I will _always_ love you. No matter what”

Marina smiled softly and pulled Lori into a hug

“Thanks, Mom” she whispered into her mother’s shoulder

“Anytime, baby,” Lori whispered back as she pulled away “come on, bedtime, you’ve got school tomorrow”

“I know, I know” Marina rolled her eyes as she walked back into the house. Now alone, Lori looked down at the disc in her hands

 _‘What happened?’_ she thought _‘why did you give her up? Why to me? Was I chosen? Or was I just some random stranger? How did you know that I would take good care of her? That I would love her?’_

Left with no answers, she sighed and, absently pocketing the disc, walked back inside…


	3. The Ties That Bind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! "Tempest Reef" is finally being update! Enjoy! :=)

******

Morning dawned cold and grey over Tempest Reef, a stiff breeze blew in from the sea, chilling the town, the moisture in the air promising for a wet day, and the early morning silence over the Curtis household was broken only by the call of the seagulls, the roar of the surf, and the sound of tires squealing in the mud.

Cursing, Lori Curtis slammed the pickup truck’s door shut with a groan

“Marina!” she hollered as she checked the rear tires “I could _really_ use a hand out here!”

“Coming!” the teen loped out of the house; her backpack slung over one shoulder, a piece of toast sticking out of her mouth as she hopped on one foot while she put on one of her sneakers

“I _really_ need to pave this driveway over” Lori sighed as Marina finished tying her shoe and came down the stairs

“Mom, you’ve been saying that for sixteen years” Marina pointed out as she straightened her backpack

“I know, I know,” Lori sighed “look, can you help me out here? I’m already late; the truck’s up its axle in the mud, and the Institute—”

“…isn’t going to run itself, I know, I know,” Marina nodded “gimme a second” she shrugged off her backpack and then crouched down behind the truck, leaning her shoulder against the tailgate “OK! Ready!” she called out as Lori started the truck and gently stepped on the gas while Marina pushed, but so far the truck was still stuck in the mud

“Marina! Are you pushing?” Lori called out

“I’m pushing! I’m pushing!” Marina yelled, annoyed “hang on!” the teen called out as she shifted position, planting her feet more firmly on the ground and gripping under the bumper with both hands and lifting slightly “OK! Try it now!” she called out.

Slowly, with a slight creak from the bumper, the truck eased out of the mud. Straightening up—and thankfully avoiding any splatter—Marina gave her mother a thumbs up as the school bus pulled up

“All right, you got everything?” Lori asked as she leaned out the window

“Yep” Marina nodded

“OK,” Lori leaned out and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek “be good” she whispered as Marina sprinted off towards the bus, hopping up the steps and climbing inside.

Finding Anna, Marina plopped down next to her friend

“You OK?” Anna asked

“Yeah, why?”

“You’ve got, uh,” Anna pointed down at Marina’s feet “…mud on your jeans”

Marina frowned and looked down, groaning at the sight of the mud now staining her pants cuffs and sneakers

“Great” she muttered…

******

**Tempest Reef High School**

Marina shut her locker with a tired sigh. She was a good student, not straight A’s, but she did well on her grades, and most the teachers liked her, a win in her book. That being said she still didn’t ‘like’ school, she didn’t hate it, but she would have preferred to be homeschooled, it was bad enough that she was a latchkey kid, she didn’t need to spend half the day stuck in class.

Slipping her stack of books under her arm, she grunted as she bumped into another student

“Oh! Sorry” the boy apologized as he recovered his footing

“That’s all right,” Marina smiled “my fault, wasn’t looking where I was going”

He smiled weakly

“You’re…Marina Curtis right?” he asked

“That’s me,” Marina nodded “you’re Aaron, Mr. Winters’ kid, right?”

“Yeah,” Aaron nodded, his gaze quickly being drawn to another girl “oh! Hey, Holly!” he hurried off after the girl, leaving Marina standing

“Rude,” she muttered as she watched Aaron awkwardly chat with the girl Holly “and…five…four…three…two…” she counted

“Hey! Loser!” one of the jocks suddenly came over and gave Aaron a hard shove “quit hitting on my girlfriend” he spat

“Hey!” Marina marched over “leave him alone, Brock” she ordered as she gave the jock a shove herself

“Bug off, Curtis,” Brock spat as he glowered at Aaron, actually leveling a finger in his face for effect “you keep hitting on my girl and I’ll kick your ass halfway to Russia” he warned as his girlfriend Holly moved away towards Marina

“I’d like to see you try” Aaron scoffed

“Oh really?” Brock moved closer into his personal space, only to stop as he spotted one of the teachers approaching “lucky your Daddy’s a teacher” he spat as he stalked off, Holly quickly following with a shy wave to Aaron

“You OK?” Marina asked Aaron

“I’m fine” he mumbled

“You know, she deserves better than that ape,” Marina remarked “I mean he treats her like she’s a possession instead of a person,” she gave Aaron a pointed look “ask her out” she suggested as the teacher finally reached them

“Aaron,” Mr. Winters, the school’s science teacher and Aaron’s father, acknowledged “Ms. Curtis,” he nodded politely at Marina before turning back to his son “Aaron, I hope you completed last night’s assignment instead of fantasizing about some girl”

“I was just saying hi to Holly, Dad” Aaron mumbled

“It’s ‘Mr. Winters’ at school,” his father reprimanded coldly “finish your assignments or I’m failing you. Now get to class” he warned before he turned and walked away

“Wow,” Marina muttered “glad he’s not my dad,” she gave Aaron a smile and a pat on the shoulder “hang in there” she advised as she hurried to class. Now alone in the hall, Aaron angrily swung out a fist, hitting the wall, surprised when not only did he feel no pain but the drywall cracked and crumbled beneath his fist.

Staring in shock, he looked around, wondering if anyone else had seen it, but there was no one else in the hall. Frowning, he drew back his fist and hit the wall again, once again feeling no pain as the drywall cracked and crumbled like cardboard beneath his fist…

******

**Curtis house**

Hopping off the bus, Marina waved to Anna through the window as she walked up the drive and, pulling out her key, unlocked the front door, absently pulling out her cell phone as she shut the door and dialed her mother’s speed dial. Although Lori often tired to get an hour or two off work to pick her daughter up from school, nine times out of ten she was often forced to leave once dropping Marina off at home, and most days she couldn’t find any free time to leave to pick up Marina, meaning that from an early age, Marina had been a latchkey kid.

“ _Hello?_ ” Lori answered on the first ring

“Hi, Mom,” Marina greeted “I’m home, just calling to let you know”

“ _OK,_ ” Lori sighed in quiet relief “ _uh, well, you know the rules, do your homework before you do anything else, no using the stove—_ ”

“…because I might start a fire, I know, I know,” Marina nodded even though Lori couldn’t see her “how long are you going to be working today?” she wondered

“ _I don’t know,_ ” Lori sighed “ _I’m hoping to get home before five, but I honestly don’t know. I’m sorry_ ”

“It’s all right, Mom,” Marina chuckled “I’ll see you when I see you. Love you”

“ _I love you too_ ”

Ending the call, Marina tossed her phone and backpack on the couch and sank down into the armchair in the corner, grabbing the TV remote and turning on the TV. No one said that she couldn’t watch some cartoons before she did her homework…

******

**Winters house**

Meanwhile, at the Winters’ home, Aaron Winter was feeling decidedly less than special. Most of the kids at school bullied him because his father was one of the teachers; they assumed that meant that he got preferential treatment from his father. In reality, the truth was that Eric Winters treated his son just like any of his other students, if anything he was even harder on Aaron because he was his son. Eric’s constant cold indifference towards his son extended towards their interactions at home as well, with Mrs. Winters often meekly trying foster conversation between father and son. But despite her best efforts, family dinners at the Winters home remained cold, mostly silent affairs, with none of the warmth and laughter that Lori Curtis and her daughter so often enjoyed.

Some might say that Marina got the short end of the stick, being raised by a working single mother and that Aaron benefited from having a man in his life, but the exact opposite was true, for all the long hours spent at work at the Institute, Lori Curtis never let it interfere with her role as a mother and always assured her daughter that she loved her.

The same could not be said for Eric Winters.

“Get started on your homework” Eric ordered his son as he shut the door

“Yes…Mr. Winters” Aaron replied sullenly

“Don’t you take that tone with me!” Eric ordered, moving to give his son a quick cuff to the back of the head, only for Aaron to swiftly intercept the blow, catching his father’s wrist with an unnatural amount of speed “how did you do that?” Eric demanded as he wrenched his hand free

“You’re the science teacher, you tell me” Aaron scoffed as he stomped up the stairs to his room…


	4. Fifteen Seconds of Fame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

The Wharf was the equivalent of downtown for Tempest Reef. Refurbished and renovated several times over the years, it had gone from a haven for fishermen fresh from the sea to a haven for overpriced coffee shops and boutique, kitschy tourist trap stalls and shops. Despite that, it offered splendid views of the Pacific and on a clear day, most of the town’s residents and visitors could be found milling about the wharf, moving from shop to shop, seeing what was on offer.

For the town’s teenaged population, a coffee shop called ‘The Mill’, capital T, capital M, was a popular hang out spot. Part Starbucks, part surf shop, it was towards the end of the Wharf, near the beach proper, and it specialized in primarily two things; overpriced coffee and gossip, with very little actual surfing going on.

Aaron Winters had been working there as a server for the past year and a half, he’d done it for two reasons, one to earn some extra cash, and two, because his crush Holly Summers worked there as a barista.

Aaron’s crush on Holly went beyond the definition of ‘unrequited’, in fact the few times that Aaron had managed to strike up a conversation with her she’d barely remembered her name, in fact he was fairly certain that had it not been for the fact that he was the son of one of her teachers she probably wouldn’t even remember him at all. Assuming that she would even notice his existence.

Currently on his break, he watched the girl in question as she carried her surfboard back towards her boyfriend, Brock’s truck, smiling at said boyfriend all the while and praising his skill as a surfer (Aaron didn’t surf, but he was pretty sure that one of the first things you learned was how to stay on the board, a skill that Brock it seemed had yet to master).

Despite her boyfriend’s obvious lack of skill at hanging ten (or even just hanging onto the board at all) Holly continued to sing his praises as she loaded up her board and, once she slipped a pair of cutoffs and a t-shit over her two-piece swimsuit, grabbed her purse out of the back of the truck and turned towards The Mill, no doubt ready to resume her shift.

She was about halfway between the truck and the sidewalk when a man standing nearby suddenly rushed towards her, grabbing at her purse and making off with it all in the blink of an eye.

“Hey!” without really thinking, Aaron lunged, sprinting across the Wharf with a surprising amount of speed, easily tackling the purse snatcher. Getting to their feet, both grappled over the purse for a second, before Aaron grabbed the ruffian by his jacket and, without really thinking about it, suddenly flung him halfway across the Wharf to collide with a parked car.

Staring at his hand in amazement, Aaron walked back over to Holly and held out the purse

“Thanks!” she grinned “that was awesome. How’d you do that?” she asked

“I don’t know” Aaron admitted

“Well, it was pretty cool” Holly grinned

“Yeah,” Brock commented as he came over “guess you’re not so bad after all” he remarked as a crowd of curious people gathered around Aaron, peppering him with questions…

******

_The water grew darker the deeper she swam, but Marina didn’t care, too overjoyed at the freedom the water provided. Shrugging off the last of her clothes she swam nude deeper and deeper, schools of fish shooting past her as she dove, gaining speed as she did, rocketing down into the depths like a missile._

_Stopping her descent, she floated there, the surface hundreds of feet up above her. Grinning, she let herself drift, the current pulling her further down, down, down. Suddenly a brilliant light flared up from the deep like a searchlight, Marina twisted and tried to shield her eyes as the light grew brighter as she stopped, suddenly, held in place by some kind of force_

_“Ora…” a woman’s voice whispered from the light “come, Ora, come”_

Marina jerked upright in bed, gasping for breath, sweat pouring down her face….

******

“You’re up early” Lori commented as she came down the stairs to find Marina already at the table eating rather lackluster from a bowl of cereal

“Didn’t sleep well” Marina mumbled around a spoonful of frosted flakes as Lori leaned out the front door to get the morning paper

“How come?” she asked as she sorted through the mail that Marina had already collected and placed on the side table by the front door

“Bad dreams” Marina answered

Lori paused and looked up

“Are we talking ordinary bad dreams, or…?” she began

“Both, neither,” Marina shook her head “I don’t know” she admitted as Lori opened the newspaper and frowned

“Well,” Lori began as Marina’s cell phone rang “this is certainly interesting” she remarked as she held up the copy of the _Tempest Reef Register_ for Marina to see, pointing to an article on the front page.

“Yeah, Anna, I know,” Marina said as she shifted her cell phone to her other ear and took the paper from her mother, scanning the article that Lori had pointed out “Anna! I’m looking right at it…yes… _‘Super Boy: Local teen Aaron Winters stops purse snatcher’_ …yes…well how the hell should I know how he did it? I wasn’t there, now was I?...OK, OK, I’m sorry…all right…well, we can ask him at school today…OK, bye,”

Hanging up, she turned to her mother, frowning as Lori took the paper back

“How’d you think he got so strong?” she wondered “I mean stopping a purse snatcher, sure. But…throwing a guy ten feet?”

“I don’t know,” Lori shook her head “I mean, I’ve seen some weird shit, but this…” she trailed off as Marina coughed and looked at her pointedly “right,” she chuckled as she set down the paper and playfully nudged Marina in the side as she settled down opposite her at the kitchen table “what?” she asked as she noticed the pensive look on her daughter’s face

“Just…” Marina shook her head “all these years of hiding, of being careful about what I can do…I wonder if it was worth it,” she shrugged “I mean, people seem to be OK with Aaron”

“Well, yeah, but that’s just for right now,” Lori pointed out “look,” she set her fork down and stood up and went around to Marina’s side, pulling her daughter close “I know how much you hate having to hide who you really are, I do, and I would love it if the rest of the world could see you as I see you. But, the problem is, they won’t. People…people are afraid of what they don’t understand. Now, I’m not saying that you should hide forever, but…once you go out there, once you show the world what you can do, there is _no going back_. Once you’re out, you’re out, that’s it, and you’re going to have to live with the consequences of that decision for the rest of your life,” she shook her head “right now….right now, the world just isn’t ready for what you can do”

Sighing, she went back to her seat. Breakfast was suddenly a somber affair…

******

**Tempest Reef High School**

“He stopped a purse snatcher, Anna,” Marina sighed as she and her friend rounded the corner “it’s not that big of a deal”

“Come on! He threw the guy thirty feet!” Anna exclaimed

“OK, now, see, you’re exaggerating,” Marina sighed as they rounded the corner and paused at the sight of Aaron amid a crowd of admirers—mostly girls—signing autographs it seemed

“I just hope that all this attention won’t go to his head” Marina muttered as she watched the crowd grow…

******

**Winters house**

“Hey! Mom!” Aaron Winters’ hurried inside the house as fast as was possible, his whole body just bristling with excitement “Mom! Did you see?” he held out the crumpled copy of the _Register_

“People have been calling all day” Mrs. Winters nodded as Aaron pulled her into a fierce hug, pausing as how she noticeably stiffened

“What?” he asked as he pulled back “what is it?”

“We’re just a little concerned, Aaron,” Eric’s voice said from behind him “about this newfound strength that you’ve developed, where did you get it?” he asked

“I don’t know” Aaron admitted with a shrug

“Well,” Eric nodded “I’ve made an appointment with Dr. Lewis”

“Dad, I’m not _sick_ ,” Aaron exclaimed “I’m…I’m… _unique_ ”

“Once you get a clean bill of health,” Eric continued as if Aaron hadn’t spoken “then we’re going to Seaport City”

“Wha, why?” Aaron asked uneasily

“I have a friend at the University,” Eric explained “he’d like to meet with you”

“Meet me?” Aaron echoed, looking between his parents, suddenly feeling trapped as they each approached him “no, you mean ‘study’ me don’t you?” he demanded “don’t you?!” he ran a hand through his hair “I’m not one of your science experiments, Dad!” he exclaimed

“Sweetie, your father’s just worried” Mrs. Winters tried, reaching for him, only for Aaron to jerk back

“No, you always take his side! Always!” he looked between them desperately “don’t get it?!” he demanded “this isn’t something to be scared of! It’s a gift!”

“Aaron! I am still your father!” Eric snapped “and while you live under my roof, you’ll do as I say! You are going! End of discussion!”

With a grunt, Aaron suddenly lunged, easily grabbing the front of his father’s jacket and lifting him up, slamming him into a wall

“I _never_ have to listen to you ever again!” he snarled

“Aaron!” Eric struggled futilely against Aaron’s iron grip “put me down this instant!”

“You don’t get it, Dad!” Aaron spat “I can do whatever I want now! And _nothing_ can stop me!”

Releasing Eric, Aaron turned and sprinted out the door…


	5. Great Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIVE! Enjoy :=)

******

**Curtis house**

Lori hung up the phone with a sigh as she walked out onto the back deck

“That was Aaron Winters’ parents,” she said as she paused in the doorway, watching Marina stare out at the sun setting over the Pacific “they wanted to know if we’d seen him, apparently he got into a fight with his father and ran off”

“Why?” Marina asked, turning around “what happened?”

“They wouldn’t say,” Lori shook her head as she came over and leaned against the railing “but…if he’s still as strong as he was before,” she began “then he’d better be careful”

“Yeah” Marina agreed…

******

**Tempest Reef High School**

The next day, Aaron Winters stormed out onto school’s parking lot and came up to Holly Summers as she was getting out of her car

“Hey,” Aaron greeted “you want to go out with me?”

Holly blinked, clearly startled as her boyfriend Brock got out of his own car

“Hey! Winters! What’d you think you’re doing?” he demanded as he stormed over

“Asking Holly out” Aaron answered nonchalantly

“Not with my girlfriend you’re not,” Brock gave Aaron a hard shove “what? You think just because you got your picture in the paper that makes you some kind of big-shot now?” he scoffed derisively as he gave Aaron another shove “you’re still just nothing!” he spat…

******

“What’s going on?” Lori wondered as she pulled the truck to a stop at the school, frowning at the sight of the large crowd of students and parents gathered by the school’s entrance all watching something with clear shock

“I don’t know,” Marina shook her head in equal confusion as a figure in a letterman jacket frantically ran pas the truck “hey, that’s Brock” Marina realized as Brock frantically dove under a parked car, Aaron Winters quickly following

“What’s wrong, Brock?” he taunted as he easily lifted the car Brock was hiding under one-handed and flipped it with all the ease of a child flipping a toy car over. Whimpering, Brock staggered to his feet and tired to run, only for Aaron to grab him by the collar and easily host him up over his head, holding them for a few seconds before tossing him into a tree, where Brock quickly collapsed with a pained groan

“I have to do something!” before Lori could stop her, Marina had already unbuckled her seatbelt and was sprinting across the parking lot towards Aaron “Aaron! Stop!” she jumped in front of Aaron “stop! Please! You’re going to hurt someone!”

“You bet I am!” Aaron snarled, glowering at Brock as the jock curled into a ball, whimpering pitifully

“Aaron! You could kill someone! You don’t want that on you conscience,” Marina urged “please…stop” she pleaded

Aaron glowered, suddenly grabbing her by her jacket

“You’re not my father! So stop telling me what to do!” he snarled, easily flinging Marina into the air where she landed with a sickening _thud_ on top of a parked car

“MARINA!!” Lori rushed out of the truck, frantically rushing to her daughter’s side as the teen twitched and groaned as she struggled to sit up “oh! No, no, don’t try to move, just stay still,” Lori panted as she clambered onto the car and cradled her daughter close “shh, it’s all right, Mama’s here” she whispered as Marina weakly groaned, coughing as she tried to get her breath back

By this point, Aaron seemed to realize what he’d done and now stood stock still, looking around at the shocked and frightened expressions on the crowd as Holly rushed to Brock’s side. Staring up at Aaron, she uttered six words

“Get away from us, you freak!”

Gasping, Aaron turned and sprinted away from the school, no one attempting to stop him…

******

“Ah! Easy!” Marina hissed as Lori pressed the ice pack to her side

“You’re just lucky you’re so durable,” Lori muttered as she examined the bruising “god, I can’t believe this is landing on a car” she muttered

“I can,” Marina hissed “how’d you convince the paramedics to not take me to the hospital anyway?” she wondered as she wriggled back into her t-shirt

“Told ‘em that we didn’t believe in modern medicine,” Lori answered as she dried her hands “and that we’d pray your injuries away”

“Oh, I’m sure that’ll go over well at the Institute, _doctor_ Curtis” Marina chuckled

“Yeah,” Lori sighed “well, we don’t really know what you…look like on the inside,” she admitted with a sigh “there are a lot of things we don’t know about you” she muttered

“Yeah,” Marina agreed. She frowned “did you talk to Aaron’s parents yet?” she asked

“They called on the drive home,” Lori nodded “begged me not to sue”

“Are we?” Marina wondered “going to sue, I mean?”

“No,” Lori wrinkled her nose in clear disgust “not at all, they’re…well, they’re scared, honey. Terrified, if we’re being honest”

Marina nodded slowly, frowning

“Mom,” she began “were you ever scared of me?” she wondered

Lori paused, staring off into space for a second

“Well,” she began slowly as she sat down next to Marina on the couch “you had your share of temper tantrums, sure. And, we had some holes in the walls,” she glanced up “…and the ceiling. But, nah, no, no, you were a good kid, Marina”

“I don’t think Aaron’s a bad kid either” Marina began

“I don’t think so either,” Lori agreed “but, I think that he’s in over his head,” she shook his head “nature versus nurture, I guess,” she smiled at her daughter “you know, seeing how destructive he got just made me realize what a good kid you are,” she remarked “I mean, you could be doing the same things that he could, but you don’t, you use your powers wisely”

“That’s because that’s what you taught me to do” Marina pointed out

“Maybe,” Lori nodded “but I’d like to believe that’s its also because you’re a good person. Never forget that” she reminded her firmly…

******

**Winters house**

“Mom?!” Aaron burst in through back door “Mom?!”

“Aaron”

He turned, gasping in relief at the sight of his mother standing in the living room doorway

“Mom, I-I think, I think I messed up,” he panted “I don’t know what’s wrong me, please!”

“The Principal called, he told us what happened” Mrs. Winters explained

“No, no, Mom, no, it was an accident, please!” he pleaded desperately

Mrs. Winters shook her head

“I…I called Lori Curtis,” she stammered out, as if talking to herself “she’s promised not to sue,” she wrung her hands “oh, I hope her daughter’s all right”

“Mom! Please!” Aaron pleaded

“She’s such a nice woman,” Mrs. Winters continued as if he wasn’t there “and her daughter’s such a lovely little thing”

“Mom!” Aaron pleaded, all but falling at her feet in frantic, panicked desperation

“Get away from her, Aaron!” Eric Winters slowly emerged from the garage, one his golf clubs held tightly in his hands as he circled around his son, hold the club out arms’ length as he pulled his wife close

“Dad, please!” Aaron pleaded “you have to help me! I’ll go talk to your friend at the University! Please!”

“I told you that one day you’d have to take responsibility for your actions,” Eric began “well, that day is today”

Aaron frowned in confusion as the wail of police sirens grew louder as several police cars stopped in front of the house

“Dad, what did you do?” he demanded as a knock came at the door

“Tempest Reef Police Department” a voice announced

“It’s open!” Eric called out as an officer entered, looking between the family cautiously

“Sir?” she questioned slowly

“Dad! Please!” Aaron pleaded

“Your sick, Aaron, you need help” Eric told him

“So you call the cops?!” Aaron demanded “you’re my Dad, you’re supposed to protect me!”

“Officer!” Eric nodded towards his son “arrest him, please”

Clearly uncomfortable with the act, the officer approached Aaron, slowly pulling her handcuffs out

“Sorry, sweetie” she apologized as she began to pull Aaron’s hands behind his back

“No! You can’t do this!” swinging out an arm, Aaron knocked the officer through the house’s bay window to sail over the front yard and fence to land on the hood of her own cruiser with a pained groan

“Move in! Go! Go!”

Drawing their guns, the other officers burst into the house…


	6. A Mother's Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SIX! Enjoy :=)

******

_The water was dark, but the light drawing Marina in was blindingly bright. Kicking and thrashing against the invisible force that drew her in, Marina let out a grunt as she was swiftly deposited on a solid surface, the water was gone now and she could feel air around her._

_Getting to her feet, she looked around, gapping at the large ‘bubble’ of water surrounding her, like a dome. Looking down she realized that she was standing on a circular stone platform of some kind. As she watched the ‘bubble’ rippled and then parted, a woman stepping through it. Clad in an iridescent green, metallic wetsuit-like garment which contrasted with her long red hair, she smiled softly at Marina_

_“Who are you?” Marina asked_

_The woman smiled sadly at her as she reached out and tentatively cupped her cheek_

_“Someone who loved you enough to give you up,” she replied softly as her thumb gently stroked Marina’s cheek “oh, my darling Ora” she breathed as she took one of Marina’s hand and placed something into the girl’s palm. Looking down, Marina frowned at the site of the octagonal disc now resting in her hand_

_“What is this?” she asked_

_The woman smiled_

_“The key” she answered_

_“The key?” Marina echoed “the key to what?”_

_“To the answers you’ve been searching for” the woman answered sadly as she curled Marina’s fingers around the disc and stepped back, still smiling sadly_

_“Beware the Painted King” she warned as she stepped back through the bubble_

_“Wait!” Marina called as the woman disappeared through the bubble “I don’t understand!” she yelled as the bubble suddenly collapsed above her…_

Gasping, Marina jerked awake and sat up as someone knocked on the door. Shaking off the aftereffects of the dream, Marina got to her feet, waving off Lori’s move to help her, and, still wincing slightly, staggered to the door and opened it to find Anna on the other side

“Hey, I heard about what happened, are you OK?” Anna asked as she frantically hurried inside

“I’ll live” Marina answered with a weak smile as she shuffled on back to the couch, Anna following her

“How’d you think Aaron got so strong like that overnight?” she wondered as she sat down

Marina shook her head

“I don’t know” she muttered as she muted the TV

“Can you imagine just waking up one day and having powers?” Anna wondered excitedly

“It’s scary” Marina murmured as she recalled her own experiences developing powers over the last few years

“Yeah,” Anna agreed softly “I guess so. Still, I was wondered what it’d be like to fly”

“Not me,” Marina shook her head “I prefer it on the ground, thank you very much”

“Really?” Anna laughed “I would think that you’d love to be able to swim like a fish, since you like the water so much”

Marina froze, the memory of her dream coming back in full intensity

“Hey,” Anna suddenly snatched up the remote, turning the volume back up “look” she said as a breaking news bulletin flashed across the screen

“ _…several members of the Tempest Reef Police Department were injured earlier tonight during an attempt to apprehend fifteen year old assault suspect Aaron Winters. Winters’ father, a teacher as Tempest Reef High School, called police after his son attacked another student and threatened several others in the school parking lot, as well as damaging car. Police responded to the Winters’ home, but were unable to subdue the teenager, who, as you can see from our drone view, was somehow able to launch this police cruiser into the roof of the two story house,_ ” the camera paned and zoomed in on what was clearly a police cruiser now hanging half in the second story of the Winters’ home “ _among the injured is Aaron Winters’ father, Eric, who was transferred to Tempest Reef General Hospital in critical condition. Aaron Winters currently remains at large and a manhunt is underway to find him. Police are urging all residents to be on the lookout, if you do see him do not attempt to approach or apprehend him, he is considered to be extremely dangerous. We will of course bring you more as this story develops_ ”

Grunting, Marina staggered to her feet

“Mom!” she called as she swiftly—as best she could—rounded the corner and hurried up the stairs, meeting Lori on the landing

“I saw” Lori answered

“I have to stop him” Marina panted out

“Absolutely not!” Lori exclaimed “he threw you into a car! Who knows what he’ll do if you try to confront him directly! No”

“Mom,” Marina began “I am the _only one_ who stands even half a chance of stopping him, you know that”

“Yes, I know that,” Lori sighed “but I am also thinking about you and how I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

For a moment, both Mother and daughter stared each other down, jaws clenched defiantly, before Lori finally sighed

“At least wait a day,” she finally mumbled “you might not ‘have’ to do anything, he might turn himself in” she suggested

“Might” Marina muttered…

******

“You seemed a little short with Anna today,” Lori noted later that night as she set her plate down “everything OK?”

Marina shrugged as she picked up her fork

“I had another dream just before she came,” she began “I think…I think I saw my birth mother”

Lori froze, fork halfway to her mouth. She coughed and cleared her throat uncomfortably

“Did…did she have red hair and wear a green wetsuit?”

Marina nodded

“Yeah,” she breathed “she called me…‘Ora’. I think…I think that’s my birth name,” she held up the octagonal disc “she said that this is ‘the key to the answers’ I’ve been looking for,” she explained “wish I knew what that meant, since I can’t get this thing to turn on, open, or what have you” she lightly tossed the disc down on the table…

******

The clock read four AM. Lori tossed and turned, before finally kicking off the covers in annoyance and then tip-toed down the stairs to the kitchen to get a drink, pausing as she caught sight of the octagonal disc, which still sat on the dinning table, both women having rather carelessly left there earlier that evening.

Detouring from the fridge, Lori walked over to the table and cautiously picked up the disc, slowly turning it over in her hands, feeling its weight, the coolness of the metal, before finally closing her hand around it and sighing in frustration

 _‘Either tell her or leave her alone,’_ she thought _‘but, please, stop torturing her with riddles’_

No answer to her prayers came, and still holding onto the disc, Lori walked back upstairs, her drink forgotten….


	7. Heritage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

“ _Continuing last night’s shocking story, teenage suspect Aaron Winters remains at large after critically injuring several members of the Tempest Reef Police Department yesterday evening. Police are now offering a substantial reward for any information that could help in his capture. Members from law enforcement agencies as far as Los Angeles and San Francisco have been dispatched to help in the manhunt and Winters is considered to be extremely dangerous. Among those injured in yesterday’s attack were Winters’ father, Eric Winters, who remains in critical, but stable, condition at Tempest Reef General Hospital—_ ”

Lori reached over and shut the radio off

“Marina! Breakfast! Come on! You’re going to be late!” she called up the stairs, which was followed by a loud groan and then a muffled _thump_ before Marina staggered down the stairs, hair mussed and frizzy and groggy-eyed

“Come on,” Lori ignored the girl’s groans of annoyance as she guided her to the table and eased her into a chair “you’re in luck” Lori commented as she sat down opposite

“I am?” Marina echoed confused

“I took off work today, so I can drive you and pick you up” Lori explained

“Oh” Marina nodded, still too sleepy to fully grasp the meaning of her mother’s statement as she began to eat her pancakes…

******

**Tempest Reef High School**

The rumor mill at Tempest Reef High School was going full tilt over the events surrounding Aaron Winters by the time Marina got to school. Already she’d heard at least three different versions of the events from at least three different people, each version more ludicrous and outrageous than the last. One version had it that Aaron had completely demolished the house; another had it that he’d set a car on fire, and so on. It seemed as if the entire school was talking about it, if not the entire town, and Marina found herself growing sick at some of the things that people were saying about Aaron, hurtful, spiteful things that had no basis in reality.

Slamming her locker shut with slightly more force than needed, Marina turned to Anna, who was standing by her own locker

“You want to go surfing?” Marina asked

Anna blinked

“What, now?” she asked

“Yeah” Marina nodded

“Wait,” Anna held up a hand “are you telling me that _you_ want to actually cut school?” she asked incredulously

“I just...,” Marina trailed off with a sigh “I just can’t think right now” she admitted

“Well, I guess it’d be OK,” Anna muttered, frowning as Marina suddenly winced “you OK?”

“You didn’t hear that?” Marina asked, still wincing

Anna looked around the rapidly-emptying hall

“Hear…what?” she asked as Marina winced again, hands covering her ears as she doubled over

“I got to go” she panted out, turning around and staggering down the hall. Much to Anna’s great confusion and concern…

******

Sprinting down the street, Marina winced as the sound—seemingly inaudible to anyone else but her—assaulted her ears again; a high-pitched, sharp, metallic buzzing ringing that reminded her of fingernails on a chalkboard (not that she had ever heard actual fingernails on a chalkboard in real life). Groaning in pain as the sound continued, she rounded the corner, something—possibly the sound itself—drawing her towards home.

Skidding to a stop, she realized that she’d run down a dead end street without realizing it and was now confronted by a tall brick wall. Taking a breath as the sound stopped for a moment, she backed up, then, taking a breath, she sprinted down towards the wall, grunting as she leapt up, easily clearing the three story building in a single bound to land--rather nimbly, she thought—on the other side in a crouch, the pavement cracking and splinting under her feet.

Taking a breath, she got to her feet and began running again as the sound started up once more, this time, she leapt up again, easily clearing at least two blocks in one leap. Grinning, she repeated the process, easily reaching the road leading towards her house in only a few minutes.

Sprinting down the road, she skidded up the drive and frantically thrust her key into the lock, growling in annoyance when, in her haste, she forgot her own strength and broke the key off in the lock. Groaning as the sound increased, she drew back a leg and kicked the door open, the door splitting in half as it dangled limply off its hinges as the teen charged inside

“Mom?!” she called out, clutching her head as the pain from the sound got worse “Mom?! Are you here?!” realizing that Lori was not home, she sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time as she charged into her mother’s bedroom, frantically tearing through the dresser as the sound got louder as she finally located the octagonal disc, the sound ceasing as soon as she closed her hand around it.

Panting for breath, she opened her hand and studied the disc

“The key to the answers you’ve been searching for,” she murmured as she recalled her dream “key,” she frowned as she puzzled it over, the answer suddenly coming to her. Holding up the disc, she took a breath “Ora” she breathed.

Instantly the symbols etched onto the disc lit up with a brilliant golden glow before a brilliant flash of light suddenly erupted from the disc, temporarily blinding Marina. Blinking as her eyes cleared, she suddenly found herself in what looked like some kind of ancient, yet futuristic, city. People dressed in formfitting wetsuit-like garments made of metallic scales milled about, going about daily tasks. The young. The old. Parents and children. A slice of life that could be from anywhere in the world at any time in history.

“Ora”

Gasping Marina spun around, finding the woman from her dreams standing behind her

“Who are you?” Marina demanded “what is this?”

The woman smiled sadly at her

“This is Lemuria,” she explained “your birthplace. And I am Ori”

Marina slowly looked around, noticing how no one took note of her

“This,” she frowned “none of this is real…is it?” she asked “this is like a projection”

“In a sense,” the woman now identified as Ori nodded “Lemuria is many times advanced than other human cultures. We evolved along similar, yet separate lines to other humans,” she explained “capable of surviving both above and under water”

“We’re amphibious, yeah I got that,” Marina drawled “I learned that when I was five”

Ori smirked, but continued

“In time, our technology grew powerful, far surpassing that of the outside world,” she explained as the scene changed, the city was now filled with what looked like soldiers in full armor, clearly marching to war while what looked like fish-shaped flying cars or other aircraft filled the sky “in our arrogance,” Ori continued “we sought to conquer those around us. But our technology proved too powerful for even us to control and instead sank Lemuria beneath the sea,” the scene changed again, a massive wave of water suddenly bearing down on the city as people panicked, trampling over another in a desperate attempt to flee as the wave hit, and Marina found herself instinctively cringing as the water submerged the city.

Opening her eyes, she looked around, now seeing that the city was completely submerged thousands of feet below the water

“Because of our amphibious nature, we survived,” Ori continued “humbled, we saw the destruction of our nation as penance for our arrogance and vowed to remain below the water, isolating ourselves from the outside world” she explained as several figures swam by

“So…,” Marina looked around the sunken cityscape “you’re still out there? Under the water?”

“Yes,” Ori nodded “in time, some grew to resent our fate, determined to reclaim the glory days of the past. One of these dissidents became known as the ‘Painted King’,” a towering armored figure suddenly appeared, easily swatting aside what looked like a defensive line as they swam towards a grand-looking structure. The scene changed again, now they were inside, away from the water as the figure stormed inside, marching down a grand hallway, easily massacring the soldiers inside

“Storming the royal palace,” Ori continued “he sought to kill the royal family and claim the throne as his own. And although our King fell that day, his only daughter escaped, injured but alive. She fled to the surface world with her infant daughter”

Marina took a breath

“That baby…was me…wasn’t it?”

Ori smiled

“Yes,” she answered “and I am your mother. Or rather I am a facsimile of her. Her thoughts and memories preserved within this form of light and shadow”

“I don’t understand,” Marina shook her head “why tell me now? Why wait?”

“Because I wanted you to learn what it meant to be of the surface,” Ori explained “the Painted King, and those who follow him, see the surface dwellers as backwards, primitive savages. If they gain control of the crown, they will not hesitate to reclaim what they see as rightfully theirs”

“And as long as I’m alive, I’m the rightful heir to the throne,” Marina realized “he can’t legitimately rule”

Ori smiled and nodded

“Yes,” she reached out and gently cupped Marina’s cheek “you can be a bridge between our two worlds,” she explained “and, when the time is right, you will return to reclaim your heritage. But,” she stepped back “that time is not now. Now, you have a more pressing matter to attend to”

“Aaron,” Marina realized “he’s still out there”

Ori nodded

“Remember,” she warned “you were brought to the surface to _survive_ , above all else, whatever choice you make regarding your true heritage, remember that and know I will always love you, my darling Ora. Even in death,” she stepped back, smiling sadly “go now” she instructed

There was another bright flash of light, and Marina suddenly jerked upright, finding Lori standing over her

“Oh my god,” Lori gasped “what the hell is going on?!” she demanded.

Marina took a breath and opened her hand, holding up the disc

“Mom,” she panted out “you will not believe where I’ve just been…”


	8. Adaptating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! "Tempest Reef" is finally being updated! Enjoy! :=)

******

The beach was quiet, the only sound was the rushing of the surf as Lori and Marina silently walked along the beach. Lori was barefoot, her sneakers and socks limply held in one hand, whereas Marina, by contrast was still in her jacket and sneakers, arms wrapped tightly around herself as if cold, even though she hardly ever got cold.

“So…,” Lori spoke up as the wind rustled her hair “you’re…a princess, huh?”

“I guess,” Marina shrugged. She wrinkled her nose “I hate princesses” she muttered

Lori chuckled

“I know you do”

“What do I do now, Mom?” Marina wondered, looking so utterly lost that it broke Lori’s heart

Lori sighed and shook her head

“I don’t know,” she admitted “I really don’t,” she wrapped an arm around Marina’s shoulders and pulled her close “but, whatever choice you make,” she began “I want to you remember something; you were born there, but you were raised _here_ on the surface, by ‘surface dwellers’, your _home_ is _here_. Don’t _ever_ let anyone tell you different”

“I won’t” Marina vowed as they both stared out at the setting sun

“It’s getting late,” Lori finally said quietly “we should go inside”

“Yeah” Marina agreed softly…

******

The locksmith had replaced the lock by the time they got back to the house and the carpenter was working on the door by the time they sat down for dinner. They didn’t talk much, not like they usually did, each too lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Marina looked up

“I need to stop Aaron” she said quietly

“I know,” Lori agreed just as quietly. She sucked in a harsh breath “I could stop you, but…,” she trailed off, frowning in thought “just remember this,” she began “Aaron may be as strong as you, but he doesn’t have any of your other gifts,” she reached across the table, taking both of her daughter’s hands and squeezing tightly

“You make _damn sure_ that you give yourself a fighting chance” she hissed…

******

“OK,” Marina spread the map out across the table “now, the Winters’ place is…here,” she circled the location of the Winters’ home on the map with a red marker before planting her palms flat on the table and pursing her lips thoughtfully “so, if you were a kid who just developed superpowers and were on the run, where would you go?”

“Why are you asking me?” Anna wondered “matter of fact, why are you asking period? We should just let the police handle this”

“They won’t be able to stop him” Marina muttered as she studied the map

“And you can?” Anna asked skeptically

Marina looked up at her

“I can talk to him,” she said “maybe reason with him,” she explained “I’m adopted; I know what it feels like to be different. Now, are you going to help me or not?”

“All right, all right, geez,” Anna grumbled. She frowned at the map “well, he wouldn’t go back to The Mil, the cops already checked that out” she reasoned

“No,” Marina agreed “same with the school”

“What about the Institute?” Anna suggested “he’s a science nerd, it’s a…science-y place”

“No,” Marina shook her head “too crowded,” she explained “if he really doesn’t want to hurt anyone then he’d go somewhere out of the way, somewhere isolated,” she straightened up “hey, wait a minute, remember when you first moved here? You said something about the whole town smelling of fish”

“Yeah so? It does” Anna objected

“Yeah, but it used to be because of the canneries,” Marina explained “there used to be dozens all up and down the coast, my Mom told me about them, ‘Cannery Coast’ they used to call it”

“Yeah, but I thought all of the canneries had either been torn down” Anna pointed out

“Not all of them” Marina grinned as she stabbed her finger down on the map

MURPHY CANNERY

******

**Murphy Cannery**

Murphy Cannery was one of the last canneries to close when the industry had gone belly-up in the mid-60s, and one of the few left that had yet to either be torn down or refurbished as a tourist trap. It stood on the coastline, a listing, hulking structure of rotting wood and rusted metal that, more than thirty years on, still smelled somewhat of fish.

The abandoned structure had gained something of a reputation among the teenaged population of Tempest Reef as a place for illicit rendezvous, and rumors swirled that many teens used the cannery and the surrounding pier to do drugs and it was long suspected that runaway teens squatted there.

Climbing out of the pickup, Marina hoped the last was true as she assessed the rotting hulk. In the dark, moonless night the cannery looked like something out of a horror film, she half expected a bat to come flying out of a window.

Turning on the flashlight, she slowly slipped under the tattered and torn caution tape that, along with a multitude of other warning labels, declared the cannery to be unsafe and condemned.

“Aaron?” she called out “Aaron? It’s Marina Curtis,” she frowned as she looked around, her natural night vision—presumably an adaptation to the dim, sunless conditions found deep under the ocean—making the space seem almost as bright as it would in broad daylight.

“Go away”

She turned, spotting Aaron standing on the catwalk above her, his clothes wrinkled and smudged

“I’m not afraid of you, Aaron” she said

“Why? Everyone else is” he scoffed

“Maybe because they don’t know what its like to be different,” she suggested “I’m different”

“Why? Because you’re adopted?” he sneered

“Yeah,” she nodded as she slowly climbed the rickety staircase up to where he was standing “makes for some pretty awkward questions” she shrugged, trying for a weak smile

“What do you tell them?” Aaron wondered, slowly turning to face her

“Mostly to mind their own business,” she shrugged “look,” she took a slow step forward “I know how scary it can be to be different, but it doesn’t have to be,” she encouraged “you just need to give it time”

“Oh, so in ‘time’ my parents won’t look at me like I’m a freak,” Aaron demanded “the girl of my dreams won’t be afraid of me. Everyone thinks I’m some kind of monster!” he exclaimed “and maybe they’re right! Maybe it’s time I start acting like what I really am! A freak!”

“Aaron…just calm down” Marina urged as he approached her

“What would you do, Curtis?” he demanded “if you had the power to do anything?”

“I’d stop other people from hurting anyone” Marina answered

Aaron’s face twisted into an angry sneer

“Nothing can stop me!” he hissed as he drew back a hand and backhanded her through the weakened railing down onto the cannery floor…


	9. Tempest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Marina grunted as she landed atop a rusted conveyer belt, the rusted contraption breaking apart beneath her to crash to the floor, half of it collapsing on top of her as Aaron easily leapt down from the catwalk to land on the floor with a rattling _thud_ , the vibrations of the impact causing several light fixtures to drop down from the weakened ceiling.

Wriggling, Marina managed to crawl out from under the pile of rusted and broken machinery. Shaking her hair out of her face, she staggered to her feet, wincing/

“Aaron!” she called out

Aaron slowly turned, a look surprise on his face as he watched her straighten up

“You don’t have to do this,” she urged “just stop” she pleaded

Panting harshly, Aaron frantically looked around, suddenly seizing a fallen air conditioning unit and, lifting it up above his head with only minor difficulty, flung it at Marina.

Leaning back onto the heel on one foot, she grunted as she awkwardly caught and deflected the heavy item, stumbling as she did so before regaining her footing, earning a look surprise from Aaron

“How did you do that?” he demanded

“Like I said,” she panted out “I know what it’s like to be different, to wake up one day with strange powers. It’s scary, but it doesn’t have to be”

“Maybe for you” he scoffed as he suddenly charged, slamming into her like a linebacker. Grunting, Marina dug her fingers into his belt, wriggling as she tried to escape his grip as they both crashed through a wall to tumble against the rocks on the beach, the landing forcing Aaron to release his grip on Marina.

Rolling to their feet, the two teens faced each other down, circling each other like sharks as the rapidly rising tide lapped at their ankles.

“Damn it, Aaron! Just cut it out!” Marina yelled as he hurled several rocks of varying size at her, which she clumsily blocked and dodged before he lunged for her again, grabbing her around the waist and, lifting her off her feet, swung her around before flinging her high into the air.

Violently tumbling through the air, Marina cringed as she hit the water _hard_ , rapidly sinking beneath the waves, stunned.

Sinking beneath the water, she took a ‘breath’, feeling the familiar sensation of water filling her mouth, a sensation that had never frightened her, feeling her strength return as she did as it always did whenever she was under the water, like being in the water somehow recharged her.

Shaking her head to clear it, she glanced up at the surface, setting her jaw in determination…

******

Back on the beach, Aaron watched the waves, waiting for Marina to surface, when she didn’t he slumped over at the waist, panting harshly before he blinked in surprise as something rapidly surged under the water towards the beach.

In an explosive column of water, Marina suddenly burst up out of the water to slam into Aaron, pinning him to the ground as she delivered a hard punch to his face before he managed to throw her off.

“ _WHAT ARE YOU?!_ ” he demanded as she flew back, managing to awkwardly somersault in mid-air to land in a crouch. Standing up, she shook her hair out of her face and then charged, slamming into and carrying him back to slam into part of the Murphy Cannery’s pier, the rotted wood splinting into pieces as they both crashed through it, frantically grappling with each other.

Although Marina was more athletic than Aaron neither of them had any training in martial arts and little to no experience fighting, therefore they were largely equal in terms of strength and endurance.

Pulling back, Marina delivered a hard head-butt, causing both of them to stagger back in pain. Regaining her equilibrium first, she hooked an arm under Aaron’s and swung him up and then down into the ground, several rocks breaking apart beneath him as he slammed into them, groaning in clear pain as he lay there, stunned.

Panting for breath, Marina leaned against part of the ruined pier

“It’s over, Aaron,” she panted out tiredly “it’s over…”

******

**Tempest Reef General Hospital**

“What’s going to happen to them?” Marina wondered as she and Lori stood in the doorway, watching the awkward reunion of the Winters family, marred by the fact that two large Tempest Reef Police officers now flanked Aaron as he stumbled through an apology to his parents.

“I don’t know,” Lori admitted “hopefully, they’ll be able to get past it”

“Hopefully” Marina agreed as she and her mother stepped back and moved down the hall

“Hey, don’t look like that,” Lori admonished “they had problems long before Aaron got so strong” she reminded her daughter

“Yeah,” Marina agreed distractedly “you know,” she began “seeing how destructive Aaron got just made me glad that it was you who took in me in, Mom”

Lori smiled

“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted “I remember when you were little how you struggled to breathe. I used to sit by your crib at night and listen to you breathe, you struggled, but you got through it,” she shook her head “but, I was always afraid that, one day, they’d come back to take you away from me” she confessed

“I didn’t know that” Marina admitted

“Hmm,” Lori nodded “about a month after I found you, it was early in the evening, the sun was starting to set, and we were playing on the beach and I looked over, and…I saw her, coming out of the water,” she shook her head “it was the same woman who handed you to me on the docks,” she explained “she just…stood there in the surf, she didn’t say anything, just…stood there for a long moment, just staring at us, and I knew right then that she was your birth mother”

“Mom…,” Marina began, surprised “why didn’t tell me this?” she wondered

Lori sighed heavily

“Because I was afraid,” she admitted “afraid that if I told you it’d make you want what you could never have,” she explained. She shook her head “we never spoke,” she continued “neither of us said anything actually, and after watching us for…I don’t know, five minutes or so, she turned around and dove back into the water and disappeared. I never saw her again,” she frowned “it was almost like she was…making sure that you’d be all right, like she was saying good-bye”

“Maybe she was,” Marina mused “from what the disk told me, it sounds like she marked for death”

“Marina”

Both mother and daughter looked up as Aaron came over, still followed by his two shadows

“Aaron, hi,” Marina greeted “how’s your Dad?” she asked

“OK,” Aaron nodded “he and my Mom are going to speak to the judge, try and get me community service” he explained

“That’s good to hear” Lori nodded

“Yeah,” Aaron gave a weak smile “listen, Marina, I just wanted to say…thanks, for knocking some sense into me. You were right, being different is scary, but…it doesn’t have to be”

“No, it doesn’t,” Marina agreed “it all depends on what you do with your differences” she reminded him

“So, what’ll happen now?” Lori wondered

“House arrest,” Aaron explained with a shrug “which is good, I think,” he admitted “I think I—we, my parents and I—all need some time to just…get to know each other again” he explained

“Well, good luck” Lori wished him

“Yeah, likewise,” Marina agreed “and, hey, if you ever need to talk about, you know, being different, give me a call” she handed him a scrap of paper with her cell phone number written on it.

Taking it with a smile, Aaron was quietly led away by the two police officers as Mrs. Winters awkwardly approached them, still looking somewhat dazed

“How do you do it, Lori?” she wondered

“It’s not easy,” Lori admitted “the trick is to remember that, no matter how scared you are, Aaron is probably about twenty times as scared” she explained

Mrs. Winters frowned, nodding silently to herself as she followed the two police officers and her son

“Think they’ll be OK?” Marina wondered

“I don’t know,” Lori sighed “but I’d like to think so”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, has anyone figured out which real-life city is the basis for Tempest Reef? I'll give you a hint "Blank Bay Aquarium" :=)


	10. A Mother's Pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks, the final chapter of "Tempest Reef". Enjoy! :=)

******

The waves were just right.

Banking into the next wave, Marina smothered a laugh as Anna was suddenly tossed from her board by a tiny wave. Hopping off her own board, Marina quickly swam over as a spluttering Anna surfaced.

“You all right?” Marina asked as she retrieved Anna’s board and helped her up onto it

“Yeah,” Anna wiped a bit of hair out of her face “how do you do this?” she wondered

“It takes practice,” Marina told her as she grabbed her own board as it floated by “but,” she hauled herself up onto the board “…some are just better at it than others”

“Like you, you mean?” Anna wondered

Marina blushed as her gaze became distant

“I guess I just have an affinity for the water” she dismissed

“Ooh, big word there, ‘affinity’.” Anna teased as a medium-sized speed boat zoomed over

“You two all right?” Lori asked from behind the wheel

“We’re good, Mom” Marina called

“The weather’s turning,” Lori warned “hop in, I’ll take you back to shore”

As both girls climbed in and awkwardly stowed their boards, Lori kept a crucial eye on the sky. Once both girls signaled that they were aboard and secured, she started up the engine again and sped back towards the shore

“I didn’t know you guys owned a boat” Anna called out over the wind

“Technically it belongs to the Institute,” Lori explained “we’re just permanently renting it if you like”

“Don’t you guys also have that big boat?” Anna wondered “the one with the little submarine?”

“The _Neptune_ ,” Lori nodded “that’s it” she confirmed as the boat slid into the dock. Tying it off, Lori and the girls hopped out and made their way down the dock.

******

Lori’s prediction had been right and soon storm clouds had rolled in from the sea, darkening the sky as fat drops of rain fell onto the town.

Standing in the doorway, Lori watched as Marina leaned against the deck railing, unaffected by the rain as she stared out across the sea. Sensing that she was being watched, the teen turned, blinking in surprise at the sight of her mother standing there in the doorway.

“Mom? Everything OK?” she asked as she came over

Lori smiled and shook her head

“Just thinking about how proud I am of you,” she explained. Smile widening she pulled Marina close into a firm embrace

“Mom! I’m all wet!” Marina laughed

“Don’t care,” Lori laughed as she pulled back slightly, cupping her daughter’s face “whatever you decide to do in life, know that I’ll always be proud of you, no matter what” she vowed.

Blushing, Marina ducked her head as she pulled her mother close

“I love you, Mom” she chuckled

“I love you too, sweetie” Lori grinned…

******

**Indian Ocean**

Deep beneath the waters of the Indian Ocean a figure swam towards a gleaming, glittering underwater cityscape. Entering through a small pool in the floor, the figure knelt and bowed before another figure seated atop a wide throne, his body adorned with various tattoos.

“Speak” the seated figure commanded

“Our patrols have returned,” the kneeling figure reported “we have yet to find her, My Lord”

With an angry roar, the seated figure suddenly surged to his feet, easily grabbing the other figure by the throat and hauling him up off the ground with frightening ease

“ _ **SIXTEEN YEARS OF SEARCHING THE WORLDS OCEANS AND YOU CANNOT FIND ONE SINGLE INFANT?!?!?**_ ” he demanded. With a roar he flung the other figure across the room “ _ **FIND ME THAT CHILD!!!!!!!**_ ” he roared.

Panting in fear, the other figure quickly dove back into the pool, quickly swimming away. Now alone, the figure known only as the ‘Painted King’ turned at a harsh laugh from a corner

“You’ll never find her” Queen Ori declared from her position shackled to the wall

“Ah, Ori,” the Painted King turned to her, reaching out to grip her chin “tell me, where did you send your child?” he asked

Ori yanked her head free from his grip, barring her teeth defiantly

“You can torture me for another sixteen years,” she hissed “I will _**never**_ tell you where she is. But I will tell you this, when she returns--and she will return-she _will_ kill you and free Lemuria from your madness”

“Brave words,” the Painted King remarked “pity they’ll never come true,” he chuckled “when your precious Ora return, it will be _I_ who defeats her, and when I do, I will cut off her head and show it you so that may you see how wrong you were to defy me. And when the people see that I am the rightful ruler of Lemuria, I will lead them to glory and reclaim our rightful place upon the surface”

Chuckling cruelly, he turned and marched out of the room, leaving the former queen alone in the dark…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! The end of my original work, "Tempest Reef", I hope everyone enjoyed it and I hope you'll all stay tuned for the next part in the series. Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos :=)
> 
> Thanks again :=)
> 
> \--AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


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